Product Code Database
Food processing is the transformation of Agriculture into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour to home cooking and complex industrial methods used in the making of . Some food processing methods play important roles in reducing food waste and improving food preservation, thus reducing the total environmental impact of agriculture and improving food security.
Food Processing Levels (FPL) are defined according to physical and chemical changes occurring during food treatments. FPL are required in processed food classifications, such as the Nova classification, to categorise processed foods according to their FPL for different purposes.
Primary food processing is necessary to make most foods edible while secondary food processing turns ingredients into familiar foods, such as bread. Tertiary food processing results in ultra-processed foods and has been widely criticized for promoting overnutrition and obesity, containing too much sugar and salt, too little Dietary fiber, and otherwise being unhealthful in respect to dietary needs of humans and farmed animals.
Contamination and Food spoilage problems in primary food processing can lead to significant public health threats, as the resulting foods are used so widely. However, many forms of processing contribute to improved food safety and longer shelf life before the food spoils. Commercial food processing uses control systems such as hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to reduce the risk of harm.
Processed food classifications often identify processing as a criterion for the grouping of Processed food. Some processed food classifications, such as the Nova classification, emphasise the role of processing in the development of obesity and noncommunicable diseases. The public health interest is particularly in the Nova category of ultra-processed foods, a highly processed foods category, which often causes controversy on whether ingredients of processed foods or food processing relate to adverse health outcomes.
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Unit operations in food processing are building blocks of operations resulting in physical changes in food materials. Unit operations are governed by general physical laws and include heat transfer and mass transfer required in different operations, such as separation processes, mixing and crystallizationMcCabe, W.L., Smith, J.C. and Harriott, P. 2004. Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering (7th ed.). 1168p. McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN 978‑0072848236..
Unit processes in food processing consist of unit operations and biochemical processes and chemical reactions resulting in (bio)chemical changes in food materials. In chemical reaction engineering multiple unit operations are combined with unit processes to achieve the desired chemical changes.
Unit operations and unit processes are the premise of food processing systems. Multiple unit operations are often needed to carry out food processing designed to result in physical changes. Biochemical and chemical changes during food processing, such as loss of vitamin C, can accompany intended physical modifications, e.g., during heat treatments.
There is much criticism indicating that the Nova classification refers to formulation and additives while processing levels must relate to unit operations and food processing. Food processing categories with typical processes are given in Table 1.
| +Table 1. Food processing categories and levels (FPL) ! scope="col" | Processing category ! scope="col" | FPL ! scope="col" | Object ! scope="col" | Result !Typical processes |
Food processing levels (Table 1) indicate the object and result of food processing and provide means for the use of the extent of food processing at an ordinal scale for various purposes, e.g., processed food classification. The relative impact of FPL on the expected extent of food processing results from the combined effects of physical and chemical changes during food processing as is described in Figure 1. Studies of food processing impact on public health and other outcomes, such as affordability, energy efficiency, food safety and sustainability benefit from the use of FPL. Several food ingredients, which have different FPL, are often used in food products. The highest FPL used to obtain ingredients for intermittent processing of formulated foods and the FPL of final processing, whichever is the highest, indicates the FPL of the final food. Final food products may be formulated using ingredients from several FPL which, when including ingredients or processing at FPL 3 and 4, are assigned to the highest FPL 4.
Modern food processing technology developed in the 19th and 20th centuries was developed in a large part to serve military needs. In 1809, Nicolas Appert invented a hermetic bottling technique that would preserve food for French troops which ultimately contributed to the development of tinning, and subsequently canning by Peter Durand in 1810. Although initially expensive and somewhat hazardous due to the lead used in cans, canned goods would later become a staple around the world.Martin Bruegel, "How the French Learned to Eat Canned Food," in W. Belasco, P. Scranton, ed., Food Nations: Selling Taste in Consumer Societies (New York, Routledge, 2001) Pasteurization, discovered by Louis Pasteur in 1864, improved the quality and safety of preserved foods and introduced the wine, beer, and milk preservation.
In the 20th century, World War II, the space race and the rising consumer society in developed countries contributed to the growth of food processing with such advances as spray drying, evaporation, juice concentrates, freeze drying and the introduction of artificial sweeteners, colouring agents, and such preservatives as sodium benzoate. In the late 20th century, products such as dried instant soups, reconstituted fruits and juices, and self cooking meals such as MRE food ration were developed. By the 20th century, automatic appliances like microwave oven, blender, and rotimatic paved way for convenience cooking.
In western Europe and North America, the second half of the 20th century witnessed a rise in the pursuit of convenience. Food processing companies marketed their products especially towards middle-class working wives and mothers. Frozen foods (often credited to Clarence Birdseye) found their success in sales of juice concentrates and "".Levenstein, H: "Paradox of Plenty", pages 106–107. University of California Press, 2003 Processors utilised the perceived value of time to appeal to the postwar population, and this same appeal contributes to the success of today.
Also in the late 20th century, food manufacturers began changing their product model from a single "platonic dish", such as one version of jarred spaghetti sauce, to offering multiple variations, such as a plain version, a spicy version, and a chunky version.
Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long-distance transportation from the source to the consumer. When they were first introduced, some processed foods helped to Food security and improved the overall nutrition of populations as it made many new foods available to the masses.
Processing can also reduce the incidence of food-borne disease. Fresh materials, such as fresh produce and raw meats, are more likely to harbour pathogenic micro-organisms (e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses.
The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of food processing. Transportation of more exotic foods, as well as the elimination of much hard labor gives the modern eater easy access to a wide variety of food unimaginable to their ancestors.
The act of processing can often improve the taste of food significantly.
Mass production of food is much cheaper overall than individual production of meals from raw ingredients. Therefore, a large profit potential exists for the manufacturers and suppliers of processed food products. Individuals may see a benefit in convenience food, but rarely see any direct financial cost benefit in using processed food as compared to home preparation.
Processed food freed people from the large amount of time involved in preparing and cooking "natural" unprocessed foods. The increase in free time allows people much more choice in life style than previously allowed. In many families the adults are working away from home and therefore there is little time for the preparation of food based on fresh ingredients. The food industry offers products that fulfill many different needs: e.g. fully prepared that can be heated up in the microwave oven within a few minutes.
Modern food processing also improves the quality of life for people with allergies, diabetes, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients such as .
New research highlighting the importance to human health of a rich microbial environment in the intestine indicates that abundant food processing (not fermentation of foods) endangers that environment.
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